Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2222 South China Sea ([-])

"What? The machine is broken again?" Chen Mengqiu in Taipei County, Taipei Prefecture suddenly sat up from the recliner, ignoring the scorching sun outside, grabbed the fan and walked outside.Behind him, in addition to the four guards with swords and guns, there was also a young man in green shirt who staggered along.

Chen Mengqiu was the magistrate of Taipei appointed by Zheng Kezang. He was in charge of the four counties of Zheng's Taiwan, namely Taipei, Zhuchao, Keelung, and Pingnan.

As the second son of Chen Yonghua, the elder of the Zheng family, and also the current Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty—this gentleman once traveled to Kunming when he was young, participated in a scientific examination, was a Jinshi in high school, worked as an editor of the Imperial Academy for a period of time, and then left with the crown—Whether Chen Mengqiu is Background, fame, or practice are all quite good.His only shortcoming is probably that he is too irritable, treats his subordinates harshly, and sometimes even disobeys his superiors. Otherwise, he would not be a prefect of Taipei now, and he would have been an important minister who often accompanied Zheng Kezang, just like his Same with elder brother Chen Mengwei.

Of course, being the magistrate in Taipei does not mean that Zheng Kezang does not value him.After all, this is his Longxing land, he managed it when he was the son of the prince, and now he is the king of Yanping County, the lord of the whole province of Fujian, and he has not let go of Taipei.Therefore, it is very important for Chen Mengxiong to be the magistrate of Taipei Prefecture, and to be honest, he is also responsible for negotiating with people on the east coast, which is even more important.

People from the east coast have invested quite a lot in Taiwan, and the two mines that bear the brunt are the gold and coal mines in Keelung.The gold mine is directly operated by the Bank of Taiwan, and the Zheng family can't intervene. The collected gold is smelted on the spot, and then waits for the navy ships to come and ship it to the mainland on the east coast.Of course, the people from the east bank also gave the Zheng family 2 yuan in "gold mine royalties" every year, and also recruited some members of the Zheng family to learn technology in the mine and factory, which can be regarded as helping them cultivate some talents.

The Keelung Coal Mine is not operated by the Bank of Taiwan.In fact, they had explored this mine at the beginning, but because they lacked relevant talents and technology, they could also conveniently purchase coal from North Korea and the Northeast, and judged that the reserves of this coal mine were not large, so they gave up.However, the Bank of Taiwan gave up, but some businessmen in the Ningshao area did not give up. They accumulated a lot of wealth through the export of tea, textiles, silk and other commodities. There was a bit of excess capital, and it was time to rush to expand abroad.Therefore, after inquiring that the Bank of Taiwan was not interested in mining the Keelung Coal Mine for the time being, they organized a group to come to the door, intending to mine the coal mine and transport the coal back to Ningbo to compete with the coal produced in the Northland.

Zheng Kezang actually took an indifferent attitude towards this, and after receiving the [-] silver dollars donated by these businessmen collectively, he readily approved the opening of the coal mine.However, he finally had some brains and asked the Yanping County Palace to take [-]% of the shares. In addition, some Fujian businessmen who were attached to him also contributed funds or labor to convert the shares into shares, accounting for about [-]% of the shares.

The matter of coal mine shares was almost settled in mid-1692.However, at the last moment, the East Coast Navy intervened. They came to the door and asked to sign a long-term supply agreement with the coal mine, and the price and quantity are still in their hands. It is obvious that they intend to use Keelung Port as a coal filling point. up.A group of businessmen looked at me and I looked at you, and finally they all gritted their teeth and signed the agreement.There is no way, the navy on the east coast is the absolute master of this piece of ocean, even if they buy coal at an outrageously low price, everyone can only grit their teeth and supply it to the navy at that time, and there is no way.

The official opening of the Keelung Coal Mine was at the end of the year when the climate was relatively cool.Because of the use of some coal mining machines purchased from Heishui, as well as the fact that Fujian has a large population and less land, and the labor force is cheap, the cost of the coal produced is very low. Some anxious businessmen were overjoyed.North Korean coal is the only coal that can compete with them in terms of labor costs, but the North Koreans do not have so many machines, plus transportation costs, so the price is higher than that of Keelung coal.And black water coal, not to mention, the outer Northeast is its own ruling area on the east coast, there are few people, the labor cost is high, and the local climate makes it impossible to produce and transport all year round, and the distance is also far away, so the selling price It is higher than North Korean coal, and cannot compete with Keelung coal in terms of cost.

After Zheng Kezang learned of the booming sales of the Keelung Coal Mine, he immediately ordered the establishment of the Keelung Mining Bureau, which was managed by the Taipei prefect, which naturally fell on Chen Mengqiu.But today Chen Mengqiu rushed out of the city, not because of the Keelung Coal Mine, but because of the sugar extraction machines imported from the East.

Zheng Kezang ordered a large sum of money to buy these machines in Sakhalin Island. They were originally powered by steam, but their design was changed to hydraulic drive before they were sold.But even so, its sugar extraction efficiency is still extremely high, and it has always been regarded as a treasure by the Taiwan Sugar Bureau (also under the jurisdiction of Taipei).There have been some failures in the machine before, and it took a lot of trouble every time. It cost a lot of money to hire someone from Heishui County to repair it.

After Chen Mengqiu arrived at the workshop of the Sugar Bureau in a carriage, he was relieved to see that the other three machines were still working normally.However, after hearing that the main shaft of the broken machine was broken, he jumped up in a hurry, scolded all the people in the bureau, and asked them to contact the representative office of the Bank of Taiwan immediately, please black water They sent someone over there to bring the processed spindle to replace it, and the price was negotiable.

In fact, it is no wonder that Chen Mengqiu is anxious about this matter. It is true that the Sugar Industry Bureau is now one of the important sources of income for the Zheng family in Fujian.Not only does the Bank of Taiwan spend a lot of money every year to purchase sucrose from the Taiwan Sugar Bureau, but they also sell sugar to neighboring Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places. Even Japan in the east has Taiwanese sugar, which is very crowded. Quite a share of the Dutch.

The huge income from selling sugar was basically invested in the construction of the Fujian regime's army and related military industries.For example, the Fujian New Army of the five divisions formed by Zheng Kezang had to rely on a lot of money every day for support.Another example is the gun bureau and shipping bureau that are being built in Mawei Port. The cost is even more astonishing. It may cost 30 taels of silver every year (after all, they are built from scratch, and the cost of factories, machines, and personnel is not a small amount. ), if it is not supported by the money from the Sugar Industry Bureau, I am afraid that it will not be able to continue playing.

Angrily, Chen Mengqiu walked around the Sugar Industry Bureau, and after instructing him countless times, he returned to the mansion with his entourage.At this time, he called the master again, and chatted with him for a long time. The inside and outside talk were all about the current situation of agricultural production in the four counties of Taipei Prefecture.The master is from Zhejiang, but he has been an official in Fujian for many years and has followed many masters. He is a standard practical person and knows all kinds of situations in the whole government.

The master comforted Chen Mengqiu, Taiwan's climate is good, and food can be grown three times a year without any problem.If the problem of miasma and plague can be solved, a large amount of food can be produced.Except for the food that must be sold to the Bank of Taiwan in accordance with the agreement, the rest can be sold back to Fujian to solve the problem of food shortage in Fujian—one more word here, according to the original agreement reached on the cruiser "Famhaut" , Zheng Kezang agreed that Taipei government would sell a certain amount of grain to Ningbo every year, even if there was a famine in Fujian province, it would not be interrupted.

In addition to food, the planting of spices such as tobacco and pepper introduced by the people on the east coast has also reached a large scale, and the annual sales are growing steadily.In time, it is unknown if the sales revenue of these economic crops can exceed that of the Sugar Bureau. After all, these things, to be honest, have a market in Ningshao and Denglai areas with strong consumption power.

Coal, timber, sucrose, tobacco, pepper, and grain are basically the major products that Taipei Prefecture currently exports to earn foreign exchange, and they can bring huge income to the Zheng family every year.Zheng Kezang also did not expect that Taiwan Island, which his father did not pay much attention to, would become a cornucopia in his hands.Now the Zheng family is paying more and more attention to this island. Almost every year, he recruits landless poor from various prefectures and counties in Fujian, and goes to the sea to settle in Taipei for cultivation, so as to make the local business bigger and stronger and bring him more income. .

Of course, Zheng Kezang put most of the huge income from Taiwan Island into his own pocket, except for a small amount in his own pocket.Unlike Li Yuanhao, who was greedy for money in Guangzhou, he knew the importance of industry to Fujian, which may have something to do with his family being a sea merchant.

Zheng Kezang established the Gun Bureau and Ship Administration Bureau in Mawei, hired a large number of western and east coast technicians with high salaries, and also imported a lot of machinery and equipment to produce guns, armor and even modern armed ships.Even, he was still figuring out how to build a modern iron factory, and wrote a letter asking for help from the people on the east coast, although he was finally rejected.

Zheng Kezang did not focus on heavy industry either.In fact, he is also trying to make Fujian's tea industry bigger and stronger, which is another important income for his small separatist regime.Thanks to the people on the east coast, tea drinking is very popular in Europe and the New World, and the sales of tea are hitting new highs every year. It is already a huge market.Fujian's Wuyi green tea is already very famous. The Dutch East India Company purchased a large amount of it decades ago. Zheng Kezang has no reason not to vigorously develop this industry.For this reason, he also tried to import machinery and equipment from the east coast, focusing on the development of the tea industry, hoping to create greater profits for himself in the future.

The Zheng family in Fujian did not come from a traditional scholar-bureaucrat family, and there are not so many rules and regulations. Maybe under his fierce operation, Fujian's industry and commerce will shine differently in the future.

During the Chinese New Year, visiting relatives during the day, eating, and playing cards at night, the update time may not be fixed, forgive me.

(End of this chapter)